Mother, daughter sued for texting in fatal car accident

On behalf of Marc S. Dorman posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, May 7, 2014.

The first Anne Arundel County, Maryland, driver to be charged in a fatal accident involving texting is slated to appear in court for a plea hearing in mid-May. The woman, age 21, is accused of negligent driving practices that led to the death of a 30-year-old man in March 2013. She is facing charges for negligent manslaughter, negligent driving and text messaging while driving, among others. That car accident also spawned a wrongful death lawsuit from the victim's estate, in which the driver and her mother are being sued for $5 million.

Official reports show that the woman was allegedly texting her 57-year-old mother in the moments before the fatal accident. The distracted driver was reportedly using her cellphone to send text messages as she was crossing Route 3 toward a retail establishment. As she attempted to cross the road, the victim's motorcycle plowed into the side door of her car. An investigation shows that the victim was traveling faster than 40 mph when he struck the driver's vehicle. The force of the impact threw him from his motorcycle and onto the road. The victim was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Baltimore Washington Medical Center.

The distracted driver is accused in the civil suit of sending text messages to her mother, which allegedly took her attention from the road, causing the fatal accident to occur. As a result, both the mother and daughter are being sued in civil court, even though the mother is not facing any criminal charges. Still, it appears that the defendant's traffic woes are not over; in fact, she received a traffic citation in April for driving 30 mph faster than the speed limit.

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